The past two weeks Christine and Katy have shared how they use MyPlate at home when thinking about meals and snacks. Today it’s my turn!
We have a small picture of MyPlate on our refrigerator to remind us to think about getting a balance of the different food groups when choosing our meals and snacks. Some days we do better than others! When I’m doing meal planning and writing my grocery list for the week, I think about MyPlate. I’m a big fan of including soup in my meal plan this time of year because it includes multiple food groups in one dish. Some of our favorites are Pasta Fagioli Soup, Mexican Chicken Soup, and Vegetarian Chili.
Though my kids sometimes roll their eyes at me when I talk to them about eating a variety of foods (including fruits and vegetables!), I can tell they’re listening. For example, on the days my daughter packs her lunch for school she makes sure to include items from four or five of the food groups. I just make sure to have some options on hand for her to choose from.
A fun way to teach kids about MyPlate is using Spend Smart. Eat Smart. Under the Kids tab on the website you can click on different sections of MyPlate to learn more about each food group. And in a dropdown from the Kids tab is a link to games including Food Group Frenzy. In this game, kids can test their knowledge of the groups by placing different food items in the correct section of MyPlate as quickly as they can. Play it today!
